Little Jewel by Deirdre Girard
Ashley has recently returned to the Boston housing project where she was born. Her old friend, and now boyfriend, Jake is thrilled that she’s back from the upscale foster home she’d been living in, even though it means she had to give up her dream of going to Berklee college of music. He takes her to his favorite place, a dilapidated and abandoned underground music hall, where the play unfolds. Here Ashley...
Ashley has recently returned to the Boston housing project where she was born. Her old friend, and now boyfriend, Jake is thrilled that she’s back from the upscale foster home she’d been living in, even though it means she had to give up her dream of going to Berklee college of music. He takes her to his favorite place, a dilapidated and abandoned underground music hall, where the play unfolds. Here Ashley slowly regains her confidence, and begins to sing again, while Jake and his cousin Chuck move illegal cargo in and out of the building. In this sacred space, secrets emerge—why Ashley is running away from her foster family, why she stopped singing, and what exactly is in the boxes Jake and Chuck are moving. The answers converge in an explosive ending that may destroy them all. This play is inspired by the actual Steinert hall in Boston—by the idea that no matter how much we may want to bring a historic building back to life or see a young adult reach their potential, sometimes that can’t happen. But there is still inherent life, beauty and nobility. Little Jewel is a fast paced gritty drama focused on issues of economic disparity, and infused with love, betrayal, mystery, and jazz.